Country Fooled In The Name Of Gujarat Model, Alleges Kanhaiya

Ahmedabad: In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, JNU student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Tuesday said the country had been “fooled in the name of Gujarat model of development”.

He also targeted RSS, saying that those following “Sangh and Manuwadi ideology” were scared of “voices of democracy”. Mr Kumar visited Una on Monday in Gir Somnath district to attend the Independence Day celebration organised by the Dalit groups protesting against last month’s incident involving the cow vigilantes. It was his first visit to Gujarat, he said.

“After coming here, I came to know how the country was fooled in the name of Gujarat model of development. Came to Gujarat to participate in Dalit Yatra in Una,” he told reporters in Ahmedabad.

Mr Kumar, who was arrested in a sedition case over a speech earlier this year, was denied permission to address the media at the Circuit House in Ahmedabad by the government. Subsequently he addressed reporters outside the Circuit House amidst tight police security. “I want to express my anger that on the Independence Day, a citizen of this country has no freedom to address the media which is a matter of great concern,” he said.

“To disallow to hold a press conference is an attack on democracy, and today, on the Independence Day, such action shows that those who follow the Sangh ideology, those who carry Manuwadi mindset, are frightened of the voices of democracy,” he added.